PAN Faults FG’s Plan To Reduce Import Duty On Vehicles

Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) Limited has faulted Federal
Government’s plan to reduce import duties and taxes for tractors,
buses, and passenger vehicles, noting that it would serve as a
disincentive to Nigerian automobile plants and increase
unemployment.

Chairman of PAN Nigeria, Hon. Ahmed Aliyu Wadada, who stated
this in Kaduna on Thursday, urged the Federal Government to quickly
reverse the plan, which aimed at boosting the economy in the wake
of Covid-19 and other economic challenges, noting that such a
policy would create unemployment problems.

He warned that such policy would further harm the ailing
automobile industry and the companies involved in accessories, as
well as debilitate the local contents and the steel and
petrochemical industries, which are to serve the local automobile
plants, that President Muhammadu Buhari is doing everything to
revive.

He added, “We got very disturbing information by the media aide
to the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that
Federal Government is slashing down import duties and other taxes
on tractors, buses, and passenger vehicles. This is of concern to
us on behalf of other automobile plants, as the leading automobile
plant in Nigeria.

“Federal Government should take a look at the policy and reverse
it for the betterment of Nigerians. Such policy somersault is
injurious to the survival and development of the automobile
industry, instead of creating employment opportunities, it would
create employment problems due to lower activities by automobile
plants.

“What informed the position of the government is to cushion the
socio-economic problems of Nigeria but it should not be addressed
on ad-hoc basis measure. Tackling the socio-economic problem of
Nigeria should be better done in a more sustainable and permanent
way. If you create employment opportunities for the citizenry it is
a more effective and better way of dealing with it.

“Nesbitt Investment Nigeria Limited recently acquired PAN with a
plan to inject $150 million within three years. But with such a
policy in place how will PAN survive? And what will be the
encouragement for Nesbitt Investment to inject such money when the
corridor of importation is wide open and the automobile companies
will not be able to compete.

“We are calling on the Federal Government to reverse the policy.
The government should resuscitate the steel and petrochemical
industries which it has been struggling to do. We are doing our
best to migrate from assembling plant to a manufacturing company,
which is all-encompassing. But if you open the corridor of
importation that would serve as a disincentive to the automobile
industry.

“No automobile plant does CKD (Complete Knockdown) because of
the policy on the ground, but our plan is to migrate from SKD (Semi
Knockdown) to CKD. What encouraged Nesbitt Investment to acquire
PAN from AMCON (Asset Management Company of Nigeria) is the
business environment, the policy of President Buhari administration
which before now was encouraging.”

Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) Limited has faulted Federal
Government’s plan to reduce import duties and taxes for tractors,
buses, and passenger vehicles, noting that it would serve as a
disincentive to Nigerian automobile plants and increase
unemployment.

Chairman of PAN Nigeria, Hon. Ahmed Aliyu Wadada, who stated
this in Kaduna on Thursday, urged the Federal Government to quickly
reverse the plan, which aimed at boosting the economy in the wake
of Covid-19 and other economic challenges, noting that such a
policy would create unemployment problems.

He warned that such policy would further harm the ailing
automobile industry and the companies involved in accessories, as
well as debilitate the local contents and the steel and
petrochemical industries, which are to serve the local automobile
plants, that President Muhammadu Buhari is doing everything to
revive.

He added, “We got very disturbing information by the media aide
to the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that
Federal Government is slashing down import duties and other taxes
on tractors, buses, and passenger vehicles. This is of concern to
us on behalf of other automobile plants, as the leading automobile
plant in Nigeria.

“Federal Government should take a look at the policy and reverse
it for the betterment of Nigerians. Such policy somersault is
injurious to the survival and development of the automobile
industry, instead of creating employment opportunities, it would
create employment problems due to lower activities by automobile
plants.

“What informed the position of the government is to cushion the
socio-economic problems of Nigeria but it should not be addressed
on ad-hoc basis measure. Tackling the socio-economic problem of
Nigeria should be better done in a more sustainable and permanent
way. If you create employment opportunities for the citizenry it is
a more effective and better way of dealing with it.

“Nesbitt Investment Nigeria Limited recently acquired PAN with a
plan to inject $150 million within three years. But with such a
policy in place how will PAN survive? And what will be the
encouragement for Nesbitt Investment to inject such money when the
corridor of importation is wide open and the automobile companies
will not be able to compete.

“We are calling on the Federal Government to reverse the policy.
The government should resuscitate the steel and petrochemical
industries which it has been struggling to do. We are doing our
best to migrate from assembling plant to a manufacturing company,
which is all-encompassing. But if you open the corridor of
importation that would serve as a disincentive to the automobile
industry.

“No automobile plant does CKD (Complete Knockdown) because of
the policy on the ground, but our plan is to migrate from SKD (Semi
Knockdown) to CKD. What encouraged Nesbitt Investment to acquire
PAN from AMCON (Asset Management Company of Nigeria) is the
business environment, the policy of President Buhari administration
which before now was encouraging.”